slave
[ sleyv ]
/ sleɪv /
noun
verb (used without object), slaved, slav·ing.
to work like a slave; drudge.
to engage in the slave trade; procure, transport, or sell slaves.
verb (used with object), slaved, slav·ing.
Machinery, Computers. to connect (a device) to a master as its slave.
Archaic. to enslave.
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Origin of slave
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English sclave (also slave ), from Old French escla(i)ve, and Medieval Latin sclāvus (masculine), sclāva (feminine) “slave,” special use of Sclāvus “Slavic, a Slav, slave” (Latin does not tolerate the consonant cluster sl- and employs the cluster scl- instead); so called because Slavs in Central Europe and the Balkans were commonly enslaved in the early Middle Ages; see origin at Slav
OTHER WORDS FROM slave
slaveless, adjectiveslavelike, adjectivepro·slave, adjectivesem·i·slave, nounWords nearby slave
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for slave
British Dictionary definitions for slave
slave
/ (sleɪv) /
noun
verb
(intr often foll by away) to work like a slave
(tr) an archaic word for enslave
Word Origin for slave
C13: via Old French from Medieval Latin Sclāvus a Slav, one held in bondage (from the fact that the Slavonic races were frequently conquered in the Middle Ages), from Late Greek Sklabos a Slav
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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